Four men have been sentenced to decades in jail for their roles in a "sophisticated" drug importation that saw 1.2 tonnes of methamphetamine — with an estimated worth of up to $1.1 billion dollars — smuggled into Western Australia.
The sentences come five-and-a-half years after the drugs were seized in the WA port city of Geraldton in what was, at the time, the nation's largest ever meth bust.
The 60 bags of meth had been collected by a vessel, the Valkoista, in a late-night mid ocean rendezvous with an "Asian mothership'.
Supreme Court Justice Michael Corboy described the smuggling operation as "carefully planned" and "sophisticated", saying the men had spent months coordinating the importation.
He said the quantity of drugs involved was "massive", noting the methamphetamine had a purity of around 80 per cent.
Justice Corboy said he had not been able to find any other cases where sentences had been imposed for such a large quantity of drugs.
Torn banknote key to mid-ocean rendezvous
The key to the transaction was a half-torn Hong Kong banknote, which those on board each vessel used to verify their identities.
When the Valkoista returned to Geraldton, the drugs were loaded into a white hire van and then heavily armed police pounced.
It was the culmination of months of investigations that included the installation of a secret recording device on the Valkoista, which captured the mid-ocean drug transaction.
An Asian voice can he heard saying "money" before the sounds of the bags hitting the deck of the Valkoista.
Three men who had been on board that vessel and the three members of "the ground crew" were arrested at the scene.
Another two men were arrested in Perth and a further two accused, alleged to have been organisers of the importation, were taken into custody in New South Wales.
Three of those charged entered early pleas of guilty — Valkoista skipper Joshua Smith, ground crew member Waseem Hermiz and Sean Dolman, who was one of the men arrested in Perth.
Smith received a life sentence with a non-parole period of 19 years, while Dolman must serve at least 17 years of his 30-year term. Hermiz was sentenced to 21 years with a minimum of 14 years before parole is considered.
Those sentences included discounts for the men's cooperation with authorities.
The remaining seven pleaded not guilty and after three Supreme Court trials and countless hours of legal argument — some of it behind closed doors — five were convicted, one was acquitted, and another had the charges against him dropped.
Now four of the men found convicted by the jury have learned their fate.
Jabour Lahood, 57, was one of the high-level organisers of the importation.
He was described by Justice Corboy as being "at the heart of the operation", and was sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 26 years.
Peter Harb, 49, organised the ground crew. He received a term of 29 years and six months, with a minimum of 21 years.
The men he recruited, Serupepeli Rasaubale, 39, received a 32 year sentence and will have to serve at least 22 years, while 57-year-old Khalid Kaena, who the court heard was in poor health, was sentenced to 28 years with an 18-year minimum.
In sentencing Lahood and Rasaubale, Justice Corboy took into account their involvement in an earlier, successful drug operation which led to the December bust.
All four men are from Sydney.
